Syed Ameer Ali

Syed Ameer Ali (1849–1928) was a leading reformist of the Indian Subcontinent and regarded as a proponent of liberalism in Islam. A descendant of Ali al-Raza, the 8th Imam of the Shi’ite tradition, Syed Ameer Ali was a recognized jurist and scholar of Islam who lived during the British occupation of India. He was educated in Hooghly Mohsin College and graduated with honours and MA in history, before receiving his BL in 1869—the first Bengali Muslim to achieve such distinctions. From 1869 to 1873, he studied in England and became the first Muslim Bar-at-Law of Bengal. While in England, Syed Ameer Ali wrote and published The Life and Teachings of Mohammed. He was then 24 years of age. In 1875, he was elected as a fellow at the University of Calcutta and lectures on Mohammedan Law at the Presidency College of Calcutta. His reputation in knowledge of both British and Islamic law earned him a position as presidency magistrate and within a short time, was appointed as chief presidency magistrate, the first Indian and Muslim to be appointed to such a post. Amongst his other notable achievements include being the first Muslim to receive the Tagore Law Professorship, conferred a honourary LLD from Cambridge University and elected as member of the Bengal Legislative Council to represent the interests of the Muslims of India.

Syed Ameer Ali’s major writings, The Spirit of Islam and A Short History of the Saracens continues to be read and consulted today as a major reference on the development of Muslim thought, law and history. His expositions of Islam were elegant, progressive, rational and universalistic; a clear contrast to the traditional ulama of his times. The Spirit of Islam also continues till today to be an eloquent defense against the misapprehensions, misconceptions and prejudices harboured against Islam.